A Charlottesville/Albemarle Area RE Blog tracking the market's Boom Bubble Bust Bounce, from 2008 to 2013. The second half of 2010 saw a steep downward spiral in sales; 2011 saw sales volume at 13 yr lo with prices dropping each Quarter. 2012 began with even lower prices which resulted in an uptick in Y/Y sales, and mid-2012 saw "Carpe Diem" trumping "Caveat Emptor." 2013: Booming. Are we a "Protected Market" once again? Time will tell.
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Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Title to the vacant Stony Point mansion that was destroyed by fire on Sunday, August 16 is held by Darren Kady, who has some commercial RE concerns outside the Commonwealth.

The Newsplex reports that the fire, which reduced "Southwind Manor" to rubble, is still under investigation. The blaze required more than 50 firefighters and took more than 6 hours to bring under control.

Darren Kady and his wife, Deborah, listed4595 Belle Vista Drive, a 4 bed, 4 bath, 7,000 sq feetmansion, and 115 acres, for sale for $3.8 million.The land is assessed at about $1,4M, as was the house, for a total of $2.8M; there is no information available on previous salesprices.

According to Realtor.com, the property has been listed for 623 days withMLS# 447134 through "The Land Office" and agent Jim Bonner, brokered by Roy Wheeler Realty (where periodic blog commenter Michael Guthrie is CEO). Smaller parcels of land are also available for sale.

A quick search on the net will show owner Darren Kady as (former?) "CEO" of "Bay/Max Commercial Properties" a company that has business concerns in NC and KY.The Manta listing describes this as a "private company" using the same mailing address as the owners of "Southwind Manor," with an annual revenue of $500K- $1M, employing a staff of 5-9 people. Among the modest projects searchable on the 'net, last December, Kady and his wife received a grant from the City of Louisville, Kentucky, to redevelop an old K-Mart on Beulah Church Road. More current RE transaction info is unavailable.

The listing for 4595 Belle Vista Drive no longer appears on the local MLS at CAAR.com, though the Realtor.com website still lists it as "active" (and shows the listing was "refreshed" in the early a.m. of Monday, August 17).

The Hookreports that the property was for sale years ago, and gives details of the 2001 listing, which was lauded by Forbes Magazine as one of the "Best Houses in the Safest Places." (Note that the earlier listing had a similar price, but much more acreage.)

Va. Housing Development Authority market data for the local Realtors Assn. indicates rising foreclosures, declining prices, then "correction" at least 12 months away.Comparisons: See Current Median Home Prices in Cville, Alb, other parts of VA, and 20 other markets.

Home prices likely lower in 2011, in 85% of the United States' 381 metropolitan areas - PMI Group. Includes graphs.VP Biden - We "Misread the Economy" - VideoThe number of foreclosures keeps rising because mortgageholders can't afford the modifications. Read the data.

Halsey Minor, King of The Tyvek Tower, is being sued not just by contractors, but by the funding bank. TheLandmark Mess continues. City claims it will not bail out the blight on the landscape and a real contrast to the $7.5 million in bricks at the base of the steel girders.